"We do Black History every month," she said. Companaro will relinquish her post in June. Durham will miss her devotion to what I call Black History Year.

It's that commitment to doing the right thing all year that helped forge my friendship with Companaro. She'll tell you it was because of the way we first met.

It was at a Durham Bulls game. She was sitting in front of me dancing to the music between innings. I tapped her on her shoulder and said to her and her husband, "Please don't ever do that again."

It didn't take long for me to bestow Companaro and her husband Dave "Brotha and Sistah" distinction. She told me stories about her friendship with Rick James. She educated me on the heart of James, who once kept me on the dance floor with tunes like "Mary Jane" and "Super Freak."

She shared her story of raising two children as a single parent. She talked about being poor and having to find a way to provide for them the best she could. The more she shared, the harder it became for me to remember it was a white woman sitting across the table. The story sounded like black folk's pain - welfare, single parenting, baby daddy drama and on and on.

"Good music is good music," she said. "Music has no color." Music has a way of breaking through the barriers that divide. Music strips us of hatred and forces us to see the beauty in other people.

"The Carolina Theatre is more accessible today," Karen Hayes said when asked about how she views the theater. "It's a place where I can take my entire family. It wasn't like that 15-20 years ago."

Hayes, a black woman, is a Durham native. She reflected on the days when blacks didn't feel at home at the theater. Something happened to change that.

It's the music. It's the dance. It's the drama. It's what happens on the stage that makes the difference.

I took a look at some of the acts that have performed at the theater over the past few years: Ailey II, Anthony David, Buddy Guy, D.L. Hughley, Dwele, Eric Benet, George Duke, Gerald Albright, Joe Sample, John Legend, Jonathan Butler, KEM, The Last Poets, Ledisi, The Manhattans, and the list goes on.

The Carolina Theatre served as a healing agent. It brought people downtown to participate in the building of a better community. While the city was embroiled in heated battles minimized to discussions of race, Companaro used the theater to bring people together when there was nothing else downtown.

Now, the people flood into the Durham Performing Arts Center. We have witnessed an amazing transformation in the downtown district. We can hold our heads high and admire the change.

The next time you take a stroll downtown to eat at the Revolution, Dos Perros, Blue Coffee, Beyu Café, Toast, or to get a drink at the Republic, The Pinhook, The Whisky Bar or the Wine Bar, remember Companaro's commitment. Black performance shouldn't be limited to once a month; it's something that should take place all year.

The Carolina Theatre brought us together. She may not have rhythm, but Sistah got soul in her bones.